The lesser-known Mau Mau uprising in Kenya in the 50s is put centre stage in
this new production. Rating: * * *

The director of this play believes the uprising of anti-colonial group the Mau Mau in 1950s in Kenya isn’t part of your everyday Briton’s consciousness, and I’m inclined to agree with him. This period of history seems, at best, to have been bumped into a box under the stairs entitled ‘general colonial wars and uprisings during the time of the British Empire’.

Touring theatre company Trestle have rallied against this, devising a production adapted from the book Burn my Heart by Beverley Naidoo about the events leading to Kenya’s independence which motivated other African countries to rebel.

There are two boys at the centre of the tale. Mugo is friends with Matthew, who is the son of a white landowner. Matthew’s family have employed Mugo’s family for generations, the fathers have grown up together and Matthew’s father therefore has a relatively liberal attitude to his workers. Even so, Matthew still blames everything the two boys do wrong on Mugo.

When a British Major and his family move to a nearby farm, the tension between the black ‘labourers’ and white land owners becomes palpable. It is the Major’s job to eek out possible uprisers and he believes every labourer has succumbed to taking the Mau Mau oath of loyalty or death in the fight against the white Christian landownders.

Burn My Heart succeeds in drawing attention to the uprising, although the focus is on the private rather than the political and the play never quite decides if it is about the uprising itself, the possibility of friendship in unpredictable circumstances, the betrayal of friends or the confusion felt by the boys.

Nevertheless the production itself is smooth and the cast make beautiful use of song, drumming and their bodies to tell the story of the boys. The set evolves organically using only a few props to create among other settings a car, the African bush and riding stables. The ensemble cast of five work well together, portraying 25 distinct characters, and Lowri James crosses the gender divide to give a particularly subtle rendering of the young boy Matthew. The production’s shortcomings do not detract from its charm and its ability to whisk you off to the African bush.

Tickets: 0844 2090 344. Until 2 Oct, then tours throughout the UK until 13 November. For touring information see www.trestle.org.uk